The light NFL jacket with BILLS stitched across the front was impossible to miss as Samuel Algarin walked along East Avenue on Tuesday evening.

With far-from-springlike weather still gripping Rochester, perhaps something a little heavier in outerwear would have been more appropriate. But Algarin broke out his Buffalo Bills apparel after hearing of the passing of team owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. earlier in the day.

"That's why I'm wearing it, in memory of him," the 44-year-old Rochester resident said. "He was one of the founding fathers who created the AFL and he has done a lot of things for Buffalo.

"It's just sad," Algarin said.

Wilson's death at age 95 was announced by the team earlier on Tuesday afternoon. He oversaw operations for all 54 Bills seasons, starting in the American Football League in 1960 and then for the past 44 seasons after helping to negotiate the merger with the National Football League.

"He's one of the last of his kind," said Damion King, 34, of Greece. "There's no one else like him left."

Video: 'I loved the game'

Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. was the only owner in Buffalo Bills history.

Video: Ex-coach Marv Levy: 'He was fun to be with'

Former coach Marv Levy, who took the Bills to four Super Bowls, reflects on the loss of Ralph Wilson.
Video by WGRZ-TV

Wilson paid $25,000 for the Bills franchise in 1959; last summer Forbes.com said the franchise value was $870 million. "He made something out of nothing," said Kyle Brade, 34, of Batavia.

Life for Bills fans hasn't been so pleasant recently. The team has finished 6-10 three years in a row and hasn't made the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons.

"But even when they were losing, his spirits were so high he kept everyone else's spirits high," said Mary Crawford of Rochester. "He was the patron saint of the Bills."

"Without him there's no way people in western New York would have known what professional football is," said I.C. Shah of Pittsford, a diehard Bills fan who has had season tickets for 40 years.

Shah said Wilson remained steadfastly committed to Buffalo. Wilson never voted in favor of a franchise relocation in the NFL, believing the team owed it to fans to make it work.

"In business today, that kind of loyalty is totally unheard of," Shah said.

Shah is the founder of ICS Telecom Inc. and was an ardent backer of the Bills when he owned the company. He was a suite-holder at Ralph Wilson Stadium for 22 years and was invited by Wilson to attend the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for the Bills' owner.

"The first time I met him he said, 'Call me Ralph,' " Shah said. "I still call him Mr. Wilson."

Some fans think winning a Super Bowl would be the perfect way for the Bills to honor him.. "Maybe they'll win this one for him," Crawford said.

KEVINO@DemocratandChronicle.com

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Photos: Bills owner Ralph Wilson through the years

Founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, Ralph Wilson Jr., stands with his bronze bust during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Aug. 8, 2009, in Canton, Ohio. Tony Dejak ASSOCIATED PRESS

Founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson Jr. speaks during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, 2009, in Canton, Ohio. AP / David Richard

Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, left, poses for a photo with Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr., right, before an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. David Duprey AP

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, right, waves to members of the media as former Bills defensive end Bruce Smith looks on during a news conference after the pair were elected in Pro Football's Hall of Fame, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. ( Chris O'Meara AP

Members of the 2009 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, from left, former Pittsburgh Steelers' Rod Woodson, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, and former Buffalo Bills' Bruce Smith. Chris O'Meara AP

Rogers president and CEO Ted Rogers, left, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, center, and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tannenbaum hold a football after holding a news conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 to announce that the Buffalo Bills will play eight games in the next five years in Toronto. Frank Gunn AP

Bills owner Ralph Wilson, center, flanked by New York Gov. George Pataki, left, and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, right, announces July 31, 1997, in Fredonia that the Bills reached a lease agreement with state and local governments that would keep the Bills playing in Rich Stadium for the next 15 years. Bill Sikes

In this April 8, 1966, file photo, Al Davis, right, the head coach-general manager of the Oakland Raiders, and Ralph Wilson, president of the AFL and owner of the Buffalo Bills, look on after Davis was selected as the new American Football League commissioner in Houston. Ed Kolenovsky AP

In this April 28, 1966 file photo, Ralph Wilson, left, AFL president and Buffalo Bisons owner, Al Davis, center, new commissioner of the AFL, and Jack Kemp, Bison quarterback and the leagues player representative, are shown at a news conference in New York. AP

Representatives of the Embryo American Football League pose in a football-like formation in New York City, Oct. 28, 1959. Posing in the front row from left are, Robert L. Howsam, Denver, Colo.; Max Winter, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Lamar Hunt, Dallas, Texas, the League's founder; and K.S. Adams. Jr., Houston, Texas. In the back row from left are, Barron Hilton, Los Angeles, Ca.; Ralph C. Wilson Jr., Buffalo, N.Y.; and Harry Wismer, New York. AP